Mary Page offers a variety of resources inviting study, reflection and
meditation. We also list important Marian dates for each month of the
year. Please see Marian Commemoration Days for the month of
October.

Due to popular demand, The Marian
Library at the University of Dayton is once again offering the Polish Madonna
notecards for a very limited time. There are seven cards and envelopes in
each pack, and each card features a different Madonna by Polish artist Wislawa
Kwiatkowska. The cards measure 4 1/2" x 6 1/4" and the packs are shrink-wrapped.
The back of each card gives the picture title and its description and the web
site of the online version of the Polish Madonna exhibit so the people you give
the cards to can go online and see all the beautiful Polish Madonnas for
themselves. The pictures included in the notecards are featured below.

The
cards are $5.00 per pack, and the shipping and handling charges per order are as
follows:

In order to make our web site more accessible, The Mary Page may now be
reached at the following URLs: marypage.org; themarypage.org; and
themarypage.net. The original address on the University of Dayton site
remains active as well.

Two important Catholic websites have added The Mary Page to their list of
Media Partners.
CatholicWeb.com highlights
items from The Mary Page in their section on Catholic News.
Catholic.net includes a Mary
Channel on their navbar with Mary Page articles. Please visit these site in
return. We expect continued collaboration with them in the future.

"The Song of Songs Illustrated," Henry C. Setter's illustrations of
this Biblical book now on display in The Marian Library Gallery through October
31, 2005. The exhibit is free and open to the public on weekdays from 8:30
am - 4:30 pm. For tours and information call 937-229-4214. Click
here for a virtual
exhibit.

Setter, a Cincinnati native and former U.D. Professor, has taught art for 42
years and still works as a professional artist. He has received numerous
art commissions in the United States and Europe, and his watercolors, mosaics
and sculptures are displayed in both private and public collections. His
woodblock prints and sculptures have received awards in juried exhibitions
throughout the United States.

You are invited to help us pray for our Prayer Corner
intentions. Please take a look! This site has been updated and enhanced
and now allows users to directly submit prayer requests or to volunteer as a
prayer partner for these intentions!

Bishop Peter Chang Bai Ren, the
underground Catholic prelate of Hanyang in Hubei province, died of heart
ailments, a U.S.-based watchdog group said. He was 90. … According to the
U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation, the bishop recalled in his writings in
1997:

"When I
took charge of the diocese of Hanyang on Jan. 16, 1953, […] I solemnly offered
my diocese to the Immaculate Heart [of Mary] and asked her to grant us two
favors: 1) that our diocese be exempted from the pestilence of religious
reformation against the Pope in Rome, and 2) that I, the weakest of all men, be
not a Judas. "Forty-five years of severe persecution has passed since we offered
our diocese to the Immaculate Heart. The facts proved that the Immaculate Heart
has kindly granted us the two favors we had asked."

Film Planned on Rwanda
Pilgrim-Site
Rome, October 6, 2005

Kibeho isn't a well-known place, but it is Africa's
only pilgrim-site where Church-approved Marian apparitions have taken place.

"It may be compared with Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima,"
said Christine du Coudray, head of Aid to the Church in Need's Africa
department, upon her return today from a visit to Rwanda.

She explained: "Our Lady of Sorrows appeared here from
1981 to 1983 and the visionaries, now in their 40s, are still alive."

According to du Coudray, Aid to the Church in Need is
supporting a film project about Kibeho and the apparitions. "The film will be a
gift to the suffering Church in Rwanda where, still today, violence is a part of
everyday life," she said."

From antagonists following the Reformation to allies
in recent years, Catholics and evangelical Protestants are forming new bonds and
identifying points of common Christian affirmation.

So says Mark Noll, the McManis Professor of Christian
Thought at Wheaton College, senior adviser to the Institute for the Study of
American Evangelicals, and co-author of "Is The Reformation Over?: An
Evangelical Assessment Of Contemporary Roman Catholicism" (Baker Publishing
Group) with Carolyn Nystrom. An excerpt from the interview with Zenit news
follows:

Q: What is the general feeling of evangelicals toward
Mary? Are they warming to her? What obstacles remain?

Noll: Mary remains a sticking point for a number of
reasons. With our strong focus on Christ as the only redeemer of sinners, we
evangelicals are nervous about any talk concerning Mary that makes her sound
like a savior.

Practically speaking, what I think most Catholics
consider devotion to Mary is perceived by evangelicals as worship of Mary.

In addition, evangelicals by and large do not grasp
what is spelled out about Mary pretty clearly in documents such as the Catechism
of the Catholic Church: Mary stands as first among the faithful in the Bride of
Christ.

That is, the centrality of Mary in the Church and the
identification of the Church with Christ are Catholic convictions that most
evangelicals do not understand. Such issues are very sensitive because they
combine refined doctrine and popular practice.

On such issues, some progress has probably been made
through the efforts of Catholic leaders to spell out carefully what Catholic
tradition really does and does not affirm about Mary.

Evangelicals who take the time to study such careful statements come away
reassured, as least somewhat, about Catholic practice, but attitudes toward Mary
remain a major difference between the two traditions.

The director and editors of Mary Page under the auspices of the International
Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events
and ideas expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items
about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.

A three-story sculpture of the Blessed Mother will be on display
from Sunday through Aug. 21 at Naperville's Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church
near downtown.

Artists throughout history have attempted to portray the beauty, grace and love
of the Virgin Mary in religious art. She often is portrayed by the manger with
her baby Jesus or grieving at the crucifixion.

Delaware artist Charles Cooper Parks, however, tried to capture the religious
figure's reverence and faith that inspires many who view "Our Lady of the New
Millennium."

Kathy Durow is an organizer preparing for the statue's arrival at the church.

How did Ss. Peter and Paul arrange to bring this statue here?

The committee feels having the statue of "Our Lady of the New Millennium" is the
prompting of the Blessed Mother. Cynthia Lynn was at a retreat with the woman
who owns the statue and it came up that Naperville has never had the statue, so
Cynthia got us initially in contact. We felt our parish right in downtown
Naperville would be easily accessible.

What is the statue's history?

Carl Demma of Oak Lawn, together with his wife, Frances, commissioned the
statue. He sold his business to have the statue created. He shipped it to St.
Louis in January 1999 to have visiting Pope John Paul II bless it.

Why would anyone take the time and energy to do this if it wasn't for the fact
he loved the mother of Christ? Since then it has been touring the dioceses of
Chicago and Joliet and in the general area. The statue is 33 feet tall and is
the largest portable statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

What makes it portable?

She arrives on a flatbed truck and, through special hydraulics, is lifted and
locked into a standing position.

What is the statue made of?

The statue is made of ribbons of stainless steel welded together and polished.
It remains shiny and will not rust. Inside the statue there is a soft light
source giving her a little more dimension.

What makes the statue special?

Catholics are familiar with statues of the Blessed Mother in their churches and
homes because many have a special devotion to her. But they've seldom seen one
of this impressive size. This one is breathtaking.

What religious services are planned during the time the statue is at the parish?

We will have the rosary recited every day at noon and 6 p.m. The rosary is a
traditional series of prayers.

Every day, one of the 12 ministries in the parish will take charge and they will
lead the two rosary services that day. We will also have an evening Mass Aug. 17
led by our pastor, the Rev. Jim Nowak, at 7:30 p.m. inside the church with a
full choir, followed by a Eucharistic candlelight procession with the Knights of
Columbus out to the statue.

Have you gotten any feedback from other parishes about what kind of crowds to
expect?

Naperville is a very large town with six Catholic parishes, in addition to
surrounding areas. So we really can't compare to other places.

Is there a way people can petition for prayers at the site?

We will have a petition prayer book there where people can write in their prayer
requests.

Were there any unexpected details that surprised you in planning this event?

I cannot emphasize enough that, without Father Nowak's support and Toni
Pietrowski and Cynthia Lynn, this would not have happened. There has been
sizable planning, but if anything surprised us it would be the amazing ease at
which it all fell into place.

Where can people get more information?

We hope to have literature explaining the Marian devotion Catholics have to the
Blessed Mother. People also can go to
www.ourladyofthemillennium.com
to find out more about the statue.

The International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima has returned to Maine
after a 14-year absence.

Thousands flocked to see the "weeping Madonna" when it toured the state in
August 1991.

On Tuesday, the 4-foot statue carved from wood began a three-week tour of 17
Roman Catholic parishes, a shrine and a healing center at the Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception in Portland.

The statue will stop in Brewer, Skowhegan, Pittsfield, Old Town, Sherman Mills,
Howland and Ellsworth before heading to southern Maine again.

It is known as the "weeping Madonna" because believers have reported seeing the
statue shed tears on at least 30 occasions.

When she heard the statue was coming to Maine, Linda Hardy, 51, of Hancock
arranged to have it visit her parish, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ellsworth.
Hardy said that seeing the statue 14 years ago was a spiritual experience.

"It's such a beautiful piece of art," she said. "There's also a spiritual impact
when you have an opportunity to see the statue. It affects everyone in different
ways.

"We believe as Catholics that the mother of Jesus is a powerful intercessor,"
Hardy said. "We ask her to pray for us like we would ask a friend to pray for
us. Seeing the statue fostered a stronger devotion to the mother of Jesus as an
intercessor for me."

The likeness of the Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared to three youngsters
once a month from May to October 1917 in Fatima, Portugal. It asked them to
spread a message of peace, repentance and daily prayer. One of the children
became a Carmelite nun and took the name Sister Lucia. She died in February at
the age of 97.

The statue was sculpted in 1947 by Jose Thedim. It was based on the description
of Sister Lucia, one of the young seers. Over the past 58 years, the statue has
circled the globe many times, visiting more than 100 countries, including Russia
and China.

The statue never travels alone. It is chaperoned by Carl Malburg, 64, who works
for the Minster, Ind.,-based Pilgrim Virgin Committee, which coordinates its
globe-trotting and raises money to support the program. A retired lumberjack,
Malburg has accompanied the statue to more than 25 countries and has visited
every continent except Antarctica.

Although the statue gets its own seat when it flies, it will travel through
Maine inside a blue case lined with protective material in Malburg's white
minivan, which sports an Indiana license plate that reads: FATIMA1.

Malburg will give lectures and distribute information about the Pilgrim Statue
of Our Lady of Fatima at every stop, Hardy said.

Their first priority after a July fire destroyed the Immaculate
Conception Roman Catholic Church was to dig a statue of the Virgin Mary out of
the rubble that surrounded it.

"She was hoisted out by a crane and she is being stored ... in a safe place,"
the Rev. Frank Morin, the parish priest, said Friday.

Now that the Virgin Mary has been safely stored away, parishioners are ready to
tackle the future, including rebuilding.

In July, a bolt of lightning struck the church, and although the roof collapsed
overhead, the statue of the Virgin Mary escaped damage. The rest of the church
was not that lucky. It is a burned-out shell.

Morin said Friday that the Parish Council had met this week and plans to form a
finance committee. "The finance committee would be formed with input from key
people in the parish and from that committee we would set up the building
committee," he said.

Morin lost most of his personal belongings in the late-night fire. He said smoke
and water damaged his collection of books, while photographs he had collected
over the years burned. He also lost his clothes. "I did find most of my personal
records. There's still one little box, one of those fire alert boxes; it has to
be under the debris somewhere," he said.

Morin said parishioners are talking about rebuilding. "The diocese will assist
us with where we want to go," he said. "We are in the process now of concluding
the set-up of the financial settlement with the insurance company."

Although rebuilding is on everyone's lips, where to build is the subject of
rumors. Among the chitchat on the street is a plan to combine the Calais and
Baileyville Catholic churches into one and build somewhere between the two
communities. Morin chuckled and said he'd heard the same rumor. "I told people
Sunday at Mass, ... 'Listen to all the rumors,' I said. 'Spread them,' I said,
'Enjoy them.' The shuffle will work itself out. I said, 'Don't feel guilty about
sharing rumors,'" he said.

The priest said there would be a salvage operation before the building is
demolished. "I and some other key people will go in with [whoever] gets the
contract, and it will be local, and we will point out things that need to be
taken out first before the demolishing of everything," he said. "It looks like
the whole site will be demolished. There will be no saving of walls. That seems
to be the most probable conclusion, but we haven't got anything official yet.
But I am getting messages from the dioceses that that looks like the way we all
are going to go. It's an insurance company decision."

A severe thunderstorm with bolts of lightning that lit up Calais Avenue and
shook the ground is being blamed for the fire that destroyed the church.

The same bolt of lightning also damaged the St. Croix Masonic Hall less than a
block away.

The church, located at Calais Avenue and Washington Street, was 18 years old and
had about 500 members. It was built in 1987 across the street from the old
church, completed in 1893.

Neighbors notified the Calais Fire Department shortly after it was discovered.
It was too late. The fire was fast, hot and devastating, claiming the church,
the nearby rectory and most of their contents--except for a statue of the
Virgin Mary.

In the church entryway, its hands clasped in prayer, the statue stood in a ray
of sunshine the morning after the July 23 fire. The roof had collapsed around
it, setting up a protective barrier from the unforgiving fire.

Church records dating back to the 1800s, before the parish was organized in
1864, were saved. The records include dates of births, deaths, baptisms,
marriages and the service of priests. The records are used by church archivists
to tell the history of the parish and the community, and by genealogists.

Immaculate Conception, its parish hall and rectory were insured for $1.6
million, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

Catholics Angered Over Gunplay on
First Day of Saint Anne's Novena[Source: The New York Sun, July 18, 2005]

It was the first of nine consecutive days of prayer to St. Anne, the mother
of the Virgin Mary, when Kevin Davey, 25, allegedly blew the head off of a
statue of the saint and shot two police officers attempting to investigate the
incident. Police did not release any information about the man's motive, but
said he had a history of mental illness.

The drama that unfolded in front of Saints Joachim and Anne Catholic Church on
Hollis Avenue in Queens angered Catholics in the city.

"It's sacrilegious," Maria Ayala, who spoke to The New York Sun on her way to
another Queens church last night, said. "It's a personal attack on my faith, the
Catholic faith." Ms. Ayala said she personally petitions St. Anne, considered by
the Catholic faith to be the patron saint of pregnancy and grandparents. "I went
to her to intercede for me to her grandson Jesus--my petition of bearing
children one day," Ms. Ayala said.

A member of Saints Joachim and Anne Catholic Church, Jose Quinones, said he was
offended by the beheading of the statue in front of the church, of which he is a
longtime member. "We are hurt," Mr. Quinones said. "We feel somewhat like
somebody crashed our cocoon, our little community."

The Reverend Ernest Falardeau, the assistant pastor at St. Jean Baptiste Church
at 184 E. 76th St. in Manhattan, said he was disturbed when he learned of the
incident. "That is unconscionable," he said. "That is quite simply an insult to
people that have a strong spiritual attachment" to the statue. The act, he said,
is "an attack on religion itself."

St. Jean Baptiste Church is home to a special shrine, relic, and statue of St.
Anne. For every day of the nine-day prayer period, called a novena, the church
is holding two special devotion times. The novena culminates in the Feast of St.
Anne and St. Joachim (who is considered by Catholics to be Anne's husband) on
July 26.

This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by
Kris Sommers
, was last modified
Thursday, 10/20/2005 10:53:40 EDT
by
Michael P. Duricy
. Please send any comments to jroten1@udayton.edu.